March 2016 – Aquatic Snakes

Brachyorrhos wallacei

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Brachyorrhos wallacei Murphy, Mumpuni, de Lang, Gower, and Sanders, 2012a: 510. Holotype: BJE0 1059. Type locality: Jailolo, Halmahera, Indonesia. Brachyorrhos albus – Boulenger, 1893, 1: 305. Distribution: Halmahera, Indonesia (Murphy…

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Raclitia indica Gray 1842

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Raclitia indica Gray 1842 Zoological Miscellany, p. 67. Type locality: Malay Peninsula. Syntypes: BMNH 1946.1.2.36, 1946.1.2.46. Hypsirhina indica – Boulenger, 1896 Catalogue of Snakes in the British Museum.3:4. Enhydris indica…

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Cerberus schneiderii Schlegel, 1837

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Elaps boaeformis Schneider, 1801, 2: 301. Homalopsis molurus: Boie, 1826: 213. Python boaeformis: Merrem, 1820: 89. Homalopsis schneiderii Schlegel, 1837: 341. Homalopsis rhinchops: Cantor, 1847: 91. Cerberus acutus Gray, 1849:…

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Cerberus rynchops Schneider, 1799

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Hydrus rynchops Schneider, 1799, 1: 246. Holotype: Based on illustration in Russell’s Indian Serpents, 23, pl. 17, 1796. Type Locality: Ganjam, India. Enhydris rynchops: Sonnini & Latreille, 1801 4: 202.…

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Cerberus microlepis Boulenger, 1896

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Cerberus cinereus Gray, 1849 (in part), Catalogue of the Specimens of Snakes in the Collection of the British Museum, p. 64. Cerberus microlepis Boulenger, 1896 Catalogue of Snakes in the…

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Brachyorrhos raffrayi Sauvage, 1879

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Atractocephalus raffrayi Sauvage, 1879: 62. Holotype: MNHN 5174. Type locality: Ternate, Indonesia. Brachyorrhos albusvar conjunctus Fischer, 1879 (1880): 879. Brachyorrhos albus– Boulenger, 1893, 1: 305. Brachyorrhos raffrayi– Murphy et al.,…

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Calamophis katesandersae Murphy, 2012

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Brachyorrhos jobiensis – Peters and Doria, 1878: 371. Calamophis katesandersae Murphy, 2012: 518. Holotype: MSNG 56343–1. Type locality: Andia, West Papua. Distribution: Known only from type locality, Andia, West Papua…

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Cerberus australis Gray, 1842

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Homalopsis australis Gray, 1842: 59–68. Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.2.40. Type locality: Port Essington, Northern Territory, Australia. Cerberus australis: Gray, 1849a: 65. Cerberus rynchops novaeguineae Loveridge,1948: 388. Holotype: MCZ 22818. Type locality:…

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Cerberus dunsoni Murphy, Voris and Karns, 2012

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Cerberus rynchops: Gyi, 1970: 159. Cerberus dunsoni Murphy, Voris and Karns, 2012b: 11. Holotype: AMNH 116021. Type Locality: Arakabesang (formerly Ngerekebesang) Island. Distribution: Palau Islands, Micronesia (Murphy et al., 2012b).…

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Calamophis ruuddelangi Murphy, 2012

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Calamophis ruuddelangi Murphy, 2012: 520. Holotype: MNHN 5175. Type locality: Ambuak, West Papua, Indonesia. Brachyorrhos jobiensis – Peters and Doria, 1878: 371. Distribution: Known only from the type locality and…

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Brachyorrhos gastrotaenia Bleeker, 1860

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Rabdion gastrotaenia Bleeker, 1860: 286. Holotype: BMNH 63.12.4.25. Note that RMNH 3977 from “O-I Archipel” (= East Indies Archipelago) is described as a “co-type” for this species, but it has…

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Calamophis ruuddelangi Murphy, 2012

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

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Calamophis jobiensis Meyer, 1874

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Calamophis jobiensis Meyer, 1874: 135. Holotype: MTKD 1026, destroyed in World War II. Type Locality: Ansus, Yapen, Indonesia. Brachyorrhos jobiensis – Peters and Doria,1878: 371. Brachyorrhos albus – Boulenger, 1893,…

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Brachyorrhos albus, Linnaeus 1758

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Coluber albus Linnaeus 1758: 128. Holotype: NRM19. Type Locality: “Indiis” (Ambon, Indonesia). Brachyorrhos albus – Kuhl in Schlegel, 1826: 236. Calamaria brachyorrhos Müller, 1857: 39. Distribution: Indonesian islands of Seram…

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Cantoria violacea Girard, 1858

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Cantoria violacea Girard, 1858: 182. Holotype: USNM 5523.Type Locality: near Singapore. Hydrodipsas elapiformis Peters, 1859: 270, fig 1. Holotype: Berlin Museum. Type locality: Sarawak. Hemiodonotus elapiformis – Jan, 1863: 79.…

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Karnsophis siantaris Murphy and Voris, 2013

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Brachyorrhos albus Bleeker, 1857c: 472; 1860: 286. Karnsophis siantaris Murphy and Voris, 2013: 142 Holotype: USNM 103578, adult male from Siantar, Sumatera Utara, Sumatra, Indonesia. Distribution: Known from type locality,…

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Bitia hydroides Gray, 1842

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Bitia hydroides Gray, 1842: 64. Holotype: BMNH 1946.1.2.38. Type locality: Unknown. Homalopsis hydrina Cantor, 1847: 104. Holotype: possibly in the ZSI collection, Calcutta, India. Type locality: sea off Kedah Coast,…

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Calamophis sharonbrooksae

March 29, 2016 John C. Murphy

Calamophis sharonbrooksae Murphy, 2012: 521. Holotype: MSNG 30193–1. Type locality: Mt. Arfak, West Papua, Indonesia. Brachyorrhos jobiensis – Peters and Doria, 1878: 371. Distribution: Known only from type locality. Diagnosis:…

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Macleay’s Mud Snake, Pseudoferania polylepis (Fischer, 1886)

March 27, 2016 John C. Murphy

Hypsirhina polylepis Fischer, 1886 Abhandlungen und Gebiet der Naturwissenschaften in Hamburg, 9:14. Type locality: Fly River, Papua New Guinea. Collector: Unknown. Holotype: Dresden Museum MTKD D437 (probably destroyed in WWII,…

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Selangor Mud Snake, Raclitia indica Gray 1842

March 27, 2016 John C. Murphy

The most basal Thamnophiine clade recovered by Zaher et al. (2019) included the Liodytes, Clonophis, Haldea, and Virginia genera. These are a mixture of fossorial, terrestrial, and semi-aquatic species. Clonophis exploits an unusual aquatic habitat – crayfish burrows; both Haldea and Virginia are small fossorial species. Liodytes contain some of the most aquatic North American snakes.
The ancestor of North American natricids immigrated from Eurasia sometime before the early Miocene (~19–18 Ma). We know this because the earliest known Western Hemisphere natricid fossils date to the early Miocene, and we know they shared an ancestor because of shared anatomy and DNA.

There are no highly specialized aquatic pythons that converge with the anacondas – the highly aquatic boas. However, some python species are best considered semi-aquatic. The largest pythons (Malayopython reticulatus, Python sebae, Python natalensis, Python bivittatus) use aquatic situations to hunt and thermoregulate. The largest pythons are habitat generalists, but they are also frequently associated with water. The large body size may be possible because of their buoyance in water, making movement more efficient.

The highly aquatic and unique file snakes have loose, baggy skin and minor, rough scales, each with sensory organs. Their short tails are round, prehensile, flat, and sword-like; the eyes and valvular nostrils are dorsally or dorsolateral. Their lack of muscle tone is spectacular and can only be fully appreciated by handling one, a physiological feature restricting them to an entirely aquatic lifestyle. The rough, file-like surface of the skin and its loose folds are used in catching and holding slippery, mucus-covered fish. Their maxillary teeth are similar in size, long, and fluted on the sides and posterior surfaces. The fluted condition is found in many fish-eating snakes.

The two species that compose the genus Farancia are considered some of the most aquatic snakes in North America, but both species are known to wander overland (Steen et al. 2013). Droughts may trigger their movement from a wetland, and excessive rainfall may also trigger their movement. Females will also move overland to nest. Both species take aquatic prey. Semlitsch et al. (1988) have described juvenile emergence in both the Fall and Spring and note that hatchlings may benefit from Fall emergence by feeding before their first winter. However, Fall emergence may present the hatchlings with dried or reduced aquatic habitats, while spring emergence would have abundant habitat and food (larval salamanders).
The members of the genus are known to have maternal attendance of eggs, a highly specific diet of elongated prey, American eels (Anguilla rostrata), and the eel-like salamanders of the genera Siren and Amphiuma.

The largest boas, the highly aquatic anacondas (Eunectes), are relatively well known. The oldest and largest member of the clade (Titanoboa) was aquatic, and today, the most aquatic members of the family are the anacondas of the genus Eunectes.

Anacondas are Neotropical snakes found east of the Andes. Four extant species and one fossil species compose the genus. The clade includes the largest snake, the Green Anaconda, Eunectes murinus, which reaches at least 8 m and has the greatest mass (in females) of any extant snake (250 kg). Eunectes is derived from a Greek word that means “good swimmer.” The aquatic habitats of these snakes are well documented. Pizzatto et al. (2007) found an aquatic habitat to be a synapomorphy for this genus. The large body size, a relatively long tail, and the dorsal positioning of the eyes and nares are all traits associated with life in water.

Month: March 2016